Sanitary package for drinking cups and dispensing device



Aug. 6, 1929. PJIAIFISCHER ET AL 1,723,232

SANITARY PACKAGE FOR DRINKING CUPS AND DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Sept. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 z um" Aug. 6, 1929. p; A. FISCHER ET AL 1,723,232'.

Filed Sept. 2 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 during shipment.

which are closed.

'pletely protected from Patented Aug. 6, 1929. p

UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP A. FISCHER, on NEW YORK, N. Y.; HARRY scrroEN, or NEWARK, NEW JERSEY; ALBERT M. GOLDSTEI'N, E FARBQCKAWAY, nun JOSEPH M. GOLDSTEIN, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

SANITARY PACKAGE FOR DRINKING CUPS AND DISPENSING DEVIGE Application filed September 2, 1925. Serial No. 54,106.

This invention is in a new and improved sanitary package for paper drinking cups, and in a dispensing device for delivering the cups one at a time directly from the sanitary package.

The principal object of the invention is to deliver the cups individually from the package directly to the consumer, without any intermediate handling, sothat the cup, a: delivered, is clean and sanitary.

The sanitary package and its cooperating holder and dispenser are particularly adapted. for holding and delivering a flat paper drinking cup of the type shown in the patent to Philip A. Fischer, No. 1,373,- 182, dated March 29, 192-1, but may be used for other flat cups also.

The sanitary package for the cups comprises a container the sides and one end of It contains a stack of cups, the individual cups being arranged horizontally. Across the other or bottom end of the container means are provided for holding the cups in the container, but allowing endwise delivery of individual cups.

The dispenser of the invention is a. receptacle or holder into which the above described sanitary package is put, just as it comes from the factory. This dispensing device engages with the bottommost cup in the sanitary package, and individually ejects the cups as needed. Meanwhile, the cups remaining in thesanitary package are comdust, dirt and handlin I The sanitary package, as it leaves the factory, may be provided with a removable seal, for protecting the cups from dustand germs This removable seal is removed just before the package of cups is put into the dispenser as willappear.

Both the package for the cups and the dispenser, may be correspondingly cut away, so that in case the mechanical ejecting device should fail to work, the user may be given access to the bottommost cup for removing it. p i

Other advantages of the invention will he more clearly brought out in connection with the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments of the invention,

illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

in these drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the sanitary package in place in the dispenser; V o

F 2iis a perspective View of the bottom of the package;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the dispenser; I

Fig. 4-

a section on the line 4l4 of Fig. 8 additionally showing the package in place in the dispenser;

Fig. 5 showsa modification of the cup side-walls 7. A. cup retaining member 8 eX- tends across the bottom end of the container 5, three sides of the member 8 being secured to the walls 7, whilethe fourth side 9 is free,

cooperating with the lower edge 10 of the front wall 7 for forming a delivery slot 11. There is a slight sag of member 8, due to the weight of the cups, and this makes the'slot 11 large enough for the endwise delivery of a flat cup. The slotcould of course be enfront wall '7, but ordinarily this is not necessary; I The member 8 1s cut away centrally, forming an. aperture or window 12 of any desired conformation through which the ejector may engage with the bottommost cup for ejecting it, as will appear. Referring to Fig. 4, 13 indicates the bottommost cup of the stack of cups in the container 5. The

bottom 8 of the container may be integral with the rest of the box, desired.

Before the package of cups leaves the factory it is preferably scaled up against the entry of dirt, dust and germs. One such sealing means is illustrated in Fig. 8 and comprises a flat member 15 which is slid in just underneath the bottom cup 13, and which has a flap 16 which is pasted or otherwise secured to the front vertical wall 7 of the container.

"larged by cutting away the lower edge of the The lower edge 10 of the front wall 7 is cut away as indicated at 17 and the front edge 9 ofthe bottom member 8 is cut away, as indicated at 18; corresponding edges of the dispenser are cut away as will appear.

The dispenser or holder, into which the package of cups 5 is inserted, will now be described. This member comprises a front wall 20, side Walls 21, a back wall 22 and a bottom 23 forming an open-topped holder. The side walls 21 of the holder are provided with flanges 24 over which are bent'the vertical ends of the back wall 22 as indicated at 25, thusformingv a stiff rib through which screws 26 are passed for securing the device to the wall.

The upper edgesof thewalls 'and'21 may be flared outwardly slightly, as indicated-at '27, for facilitating: the insertion 20 of the'pack-age 5.

The meehanical ejector for the cups comprises a reciprocable slide member: 30, which is moved forwardly by-the manually-operated pull member 31, and is moved backw-ardly by spring 32-connected at its opposite ends to the bottom of the dispenser and to pull member '31.

The reciprocablemember 30,-is provided with a plurality 'ofupwardly projecting fin- 30 gers orprongs 33, whichproject through a corresponding plurality of slots 34 in the bottom of the holder, into engagement with the bottommost cup 13in the package5, the

Window 12 inthe bottom of the package 5 permitting such engagement.

vThe lower front edge ofthefront wall 20 is cut away,:as indicated at'35 for forming a discharge slot for the cups. Vhen the cup package is in the -holder, the discharge .1 slotof the package andthedisch-arge slot of theaholdercome into registry. It will be apparent that successive .ireciprocations of member 31 will cause the prongs 33 to engage'with the :bottommost cup, and result .in the successive endwise delivery of the cups through the two registering slots.

The lower edge 35 is arched upwardly,:-as indicated at 36, toiregister with the upward arch 17 of the lower'front edgeofithe walls -71of the container.

The front edge ofithe bottom-.23rmay be rcut away,-:;as indicated at 37,-s0 -as to regisiterrwithithe cut awayportion 18 of the'botatom memb'er'8 whensthe package isinplace iinztheholder. The SGVGIiLlzCHtaway portions permit the user, in the event of the failure of rthe ejecting device to work, to grasp the :bottom cup "and pull it out with :his fingers.

:Referring :to Fig. "5,. a unodification of the {ejecting device is there shown, and comprises "the rack 40, which is fixed to theejector'30,

t-herack being operatedback and forth by :thegear 41 meshingtherewith, the gear being oscillated by a handle 42'fixed on the same shaft 43 with the gear. A spring 44 around the shaft 43 brings the handle 42 back :to its starting position after a cup has been ejected.

A housing member 46 may be employed in connection with the reciprocating device of F ig. 4 and Fig. 5, as shown, this member acting as a guide for the slide 31.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6, a. slightly difierent form of dispenser is shown, comprising a box-like member 50 having a front wall-51, a hinged side door 52, and a top 53. This dispenser 50 is substantially dustproof; the package 5 of cups isinserted through the door 52.

A modification of the top is shown in Fig. 7, where the top 53 is hinged, as shownat 54. Inthis n1odification,.the side walls 52 are cut out, as shown at 52?, so that the fingers may readily grasp the cup'package for li'fting'it out.

A somewhat modified form of ejecting device is shown'in "Figs. 6 and 7. The'pull member 31 corresponding tothe pull incinber31 of'Fig l, is bent downwardly, as at 55, at a point within the plane of the front wall 51. The bottom of the container 50 is cut away as indicated at 37, corresponding to the'ci'it'away part of Fig. 1. It will be seen, in Fig. 7, that this positioning of 55 enables the finger of-the use-r readily to engage with the bottom cup and pull it out, in the event of the failure of the ejecting device. 7

.Figs. 6 and '7 show'a slight modification of the discharge slot for the cups. The central lower part of the front wall 51 is arched upwardly, as at 56, thisarch corrospondingto 2160f Fig. 1. The lower front wall is also provided with two downwardly extending tongues57, )referably rounded as shown. The positioning of these tongues is useful for controlling the delivery of the cups, and they are preferably of flexible metal so that they may be'bent up and down, whereby they'anay be accurately positioned for allowing the delivery of the bottommost cup, but for preventing the deliveryof'the next cup just above'the bottom one.

While we haveillustrated in considerable detail certain preferred ways of carrying out-our invention, it should be understood :that the invention is not to be limited to these details,' but may be carried out in other 1 ways.

e claim as our invention: 1. Dispenslng means for fiat paper drinking cups and the like, comprising an open- -topped box-like bracket -member having a across its lower end, one edge of which is free of the box for forming a dispensing slot adapted to register with the dispensing slot in the bracket member, the cup retaining member being cut away to allow the cupejeeting means to engage with the bottommost cup in the package to eject it.

2. Dispensing means for fiat paper drinking cups and the like, comprising an opentopped box-like bracket member having a horizontally disposed dispensingslot at the lower, front edge thereof, reciprocable manually operated cup-ejecting means at the bottom of the box, in combination with a dispensing package closed at its upper end and having a cup retaining member extending across its lower end, one edge of which is free of the box for forming a dispensing slot adapted to register with the dispensing slot in the bracket member, the cup retaining member remaining in position intact as the cups are dispensed through said slots, and being cut away to allow the cup-ejecting means to engage with the bottommost cup in the package to eject it.

3. A dispensing device for folded drinking cups, comprising a holder having an ejecting device and having an ejecting slot adjacent thereto, in combination with a package for the folded cups adapted to be inserted into the holder, said package having its sides and one end closed, a cup retaining end member, cut away for allowing the ej ecting device to engage with the bottommost cup for ejecting it, said cup retaining member extending across the delivery end of the package and being secured to three sides of the package, the fourth side of said member being free and adapted to cooperate with the lower front edge of the package to form a delivery slot for the cups, said delivery slot being adapted to register with the ejecting slot in the container.

4. A dispensing package for flat paper drinking cups, comprising a box member, closed at its upper end, and a cup retaining member extending across its lower end for supporting the cups in dispensing position, the cup retaining member being provided with a centrally disposed window for exposing a portion of the bottommost cup, the material of the cup retaining member, adjacent one end of the window, extending across from one side of the box to the other and cooperating with the lower front edge of the box member for forming a dispensing slot for the cups.

5. A dispensing package for flat paper drinking cups, comprising a box member, closed at its upper end, a cup retaining member extending across its lower end for supporting the cups in dispensing position, the cup retaining member being provided with a centrally disposed window for exposing a portion of the bottommost cup, the material of the cup retaining member, adjacent one end of the window, extending across from one side of the box to the other and cooperating with the lower front edge of the box member for forming a dispensing slot for the cups, and a sheet member adapted to be placed on the bottom of the box member for protection during shipment, and adapted to be removed when the cups are to be dispensed.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

PHILIP A. FISCHER, HARRY SCHOEN. ALBERT M. GOLDSTEIN. JOSEPH M. GOLDSTEIN. 

